New to BFS

[I8a Buzzbait]

Hey all, I joined because of a 75 page multi-year long thread about spools. I'm still working my way through that, but wanted to check in with the current thoughts for a newbie getting into BFS.

Mostly throwing 1/16 Ned rigs, but I'll be curious to explore some other BFS baits. Mostly fishing small ponds and the occasional lake, mostly largies and spots, occasionally smallies on that lake. All from either kayak or bank, never any electronics.

What are the takes on the benefits of BFS over spinning?

I've gathered the benefits to be no line twist, no wind knots, no fluoro popping off the reel, and higher gear ratios. Some say accuracy, and I'm not sold necessarily, but I'll admit maybe more control, kind of like an E-brake for a cast.

I'm thinking of taking two avenues:

I grabbed a Kastking Zephyr and a Soloking Acura Pro (Doviello HICC50)to compare and return one.

Any experience with these?

Also I'm looking into getting a BFS spool for either my Tatula CT or my Tat sv tw103. I've spied a few between Ebay and AliExpress.

Good spools under $60?

I know a lot of people say BFS is hard to judge without dropping hundreds of dollars, but I'm in no place to do that.

I did just grab my first spool to swap, but it's a Tatula Salamandura sv 150 spool for longer controlled casts on my TatCT (hopefully at least).

Any thoughts on AE bearings?

Full ceramic that much better than hybrid?

Micro that much better than standard for BFS?

Roro BFS st actually worth the cost?

I'm going to eventually build my own rod for it, what are some characteristics I should look for?

I'm already excited to get into this, and to join the forum, I've been a stalker for a while now

[fffishing]

BFS over spinning? For me,more accuracy and convenience. Kastking Zephyr and a Soloking Acura Pro just simple reels with linear magnets brakes,what's not bad for general BFS fishing. For spools,need to see exactly model and maker,you can find good spools under 60,some Ray studio for example(just last edition!The first generation was not so good),last I took for Pixy,works great.
Full ceramic just more noisy ,micro better for light start only,and good for smallest lures(1g and less),in mostly situation regular bearing good enough,just need a clean and oiled with light oil.
Roro already overpriced ...
For rod,you need to find out right blank for your situations on the water, - power,leight,fast-slow taper... after that just put handle and guides on ,and you're done!

[I8a Buzzbait]

Hey man, thanks for the feedback.

I didn't realize how dead it is around here, does anybody still moderate the forum?

I'm seeing 400-450 guests, and like 2 people logged in, imagine if 400 people logged in, this place would be bumpin!

[dennis_rf]

Welcome aboard the rabbit hole

My thoughts:

Benefit is more fun in general.
And way more precision if you are throwing at targets, this especially accounts in stream fishing. If you are just throwing out into the blue you will get further with spinning gear.

The general consensus is the Zephyr is finicky in casting, the Acura performs over its price point, especially in smoothness of retrieve. I was genuinely shocked when I fished with the Acura of a friend. I am not sure how it will break in over time of heavy use, I assume it will become geary. If it doesn’t, its’s even more of a shocker
The only things you’re missing out on with this reel are the small form factor of an Aldebaran / Steez or Alphas Air and the extra RPM triggered brake power when casting, like FTB or the moving Daiwa inductor, as most AE reels have the old standard fixed magnet system. Also all Roro and KKR Spools have fixed inductors, they are great and worth the money, but I see this more suited for stream fishing with short precise casts. If you want to lean into the cast, a moving inductor feels better and protects from the initial blowup. Also when you decide to tie in a bit heavier lure. There are some aftermarket AE spools around which have a moving inductor. I had the Ray’s DIY for the Alphas SV TW with a moving inductor but my casts felt choked off. Others are happy with their Rays DIY long cast spools for the Daiwa Air series reels.

I see people do it but I personally wouldn’t drop a BFS spool into a Tatula of that size. Not because it won’t work but because the joy of BFS is also in using light and smaller gear. Id rather pick up a Tat 80 and either the Gomexus BFS spool (haven’t tried but its dirt cheap) or the KKR spool. But still that’s way over the price of the Acura. A big heavy Tat just feels too chunky to me. Others might disagree.

Bearings:
BFS reels usually come with the right bearings equipped. When spool swapping a normal reel you should upgrade. They do make a big difference, yes. The Roro bearings are top notch performance and well priced. The real question is are Hedgehog Air worth the cost now that cheap Roro exist
I prefer hybrid over full ceramic, less loud. Distance? Not sure. Maybe someone else can chime in.
Aliexpress Hybrid: the orange seals are not as micro as the Roro. Just received some to swap out on my regular Alphas spools and see if that makes a difference. They should be better than stock since the balls are smaller and just go longer in free spin, but I wouldn’t consider them “BFS standard small“. Rather semi.
Haven’t seen Roro-Style bearings on AE to buy individually (Aluminum outer casing / spacer with a tiny bearing placed inside) but being based in Europe, the products shown to me might differ from what you can buy in the US. They do have geo-blockers on shops and products on AE.

BFS rod build:
Very personal choice. A slower tapered rod will load up better and throw lighter baits further but you might want to prioritise backbone over this. Really depends on your liking and fishing conditions. Also the market doesn’t provide that many blanks for builders in that power range.

[dragon1]

BFS and mag-finesse is endless in possibilities...

I will toss in a oft missed option that really allows for a lot of spools options and you can get into a legendary Daiwa platform...

Find a clean 34mm MG reel like the venerable TDZ or OG Gen I Steez (realistic at $100 or less)...Ray's and Roro among others, makes several compatible mag-finesse and BFS spools.

For BFS rods, I would look at blanks typically used for spinning rods that may be "spin jig" type tapers.

Welcome and enjoy!

[slipperybob]

There's always a lot of lurkers.

[tincanary]

I fish BFS almost exclusively. The only times I'm not is when fishing king salmon or musky. I use it for everything else; panfish, trout, bass, steelhead, coho, and Atlantic salmon. Keep in mind that BFS isn't about fishing ultralight lures only. While the US market rod brands are still confused as to what BFS is, the Japanese have a plethora of rods for bait finesse, some of them with an upper limit exceeding 20g. The hallmark of a BFS rod is a progressive taper blank; more bend in the tip and less the closer you get to the butt, a page torn from the book of fly fishermen. Most US market rods in general are parabolic taper, less bend in the tip and more in the butt. Progressive tapers have a wider weight range than parabolic and will be effective at casting a wide variety of baits and weights. I throw everything from the Rapala CD1 to the Storm Wiggle Wart on BFS. One of my rods, a Smith Troutin'Spin 6'5" ML 3-12g, throws both very well. It's my rod of choice for steelies, cohos, and Atlantics.